BJP on Monday unveiled its slate of eight Rajya Sabha hopefuls for Uttar Pradesh, including Dharam Pal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar. The election, slated for October 16, will see 12 seats across UP, Uttarakhand and West Bengal contested and counted the same day.
The party’s decision follows the retirement of several UP MPs, including Hardeep Puri, Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal, B L Verma and Seema Dwivedi, as well as opposition figures Ram Gopal Yadav and Ramji Gautam. A vacant seat, previously held by former deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, has been empty since September 11 after his resignation to become lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
BJP’s ticketing rule, which bars those who lost Lok Sabha contests from Rajya Sabha nominations, explains why former ministers Smriti Irani, Harish Dwivedi, Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma were left out. The only former MP to receive a ticket was Priyanka Rawat, who won in Barabanki in 2014 but was denied seats in 2019 and 2024; she represents the Pasi community, while Shruti Gangwar is the Kurmi choice.
The party also opted for Dharampal Singh, a Yogi Adityanath cabinet minister and Lodh leader, over BL Verma, signalling a shift in regional representation. By announcing the list, BJP is sending a clear message that working within the organization can lead to future opportunities, as it does with the “Mission 2027” strategy.